Dr Choi : A "die-as-late-as-you-can" Doctor!

Am in my early thirties and an Indian by birth. It goes without saying that I would have met or consulted umpteen physicians, surgeons, doctors. All of them whom I've so far come across can be categorized as Type A - Conventional, perfectionist physicians. And until 2 years ago, I thought there is only that category Type A that exists and there isn't any other, ever. [when I say category of Doctors, am sure all of us know there are million "gists" - gynecologists, dermatologists, neurologists and so on..but what am referring to is from a common patient's standpoint, categories within general, common medical practitioners]. I changed my perception when I met Dr Choi a couple of years back. He obviously belonged to "type i", a new type that I've come across!

So, what, Dr Choi is all about? He is a man who's, I think, in his late 30's. When I met him for the first time, I met him because he was the only Dr available on Saturdays in the clinic that's in my proximity. My first interaction I still remember was a disaster. This is how it started:

Dr : Hey, so you are Mr Prakash(looking at my case file), how can I help you today?

Me: Dr, I have symptoms of cold, cough and fever.

Dr: Am not sure whether I can help you with that. But am sure you could; have you tried to help yourselves?

Me: Yes Dr, I did, I took Tylenol for cough and cold, I feel a little better but I still want to consult you to make sure I don't have any infections

Dr: Ok, even if you find that you have some symptoms of infection am going to ask you to continue what you did before coming to me! After all you are not going to die of cold..one in a million people do, though!

So what do you think from that quick excerpt from our first conversation..I don't know what you think, but let me tell you what I thought. I thought he's a Dr with a negative attitude, a disciplinarian or may be he is indifferent in the sense that he doesn't bother the number patients that register with him...

But my subsequent acquaintances changed my impression. I realized his approach is very meaningful and he reads people and decide how best he can influence them. Here's another excerpt from one my recent conversations:

Me: Am obese and how much ever I starve I don't seem lose weight

Dr : You aren't obese but you are over-weight; Don't starve, eat as much fruits and vegetables and eat as little as carbohydrate, starch and fat.

[He described with examples about each of these.]

This is just a Dr's advice, you don't have to take it as such; If you want to live longer you follow this otherwise if you don't want give up things that you like the most, please do what you really want to. I know sugar isn't good, but I don't want to live life without sweets. No one can live for ever however health lifestyle they stick on to. But all we are trying to do is prolong our healthy portion of our life as much as we can.

It sounded different and more meaningful to me to hear that from a Dr. Why should Doctors always sing the "never-ever-go-near-sugar & salt" tune? That too for people who are knowledgeable, educated and aware like us, I mean this new generation. To me, Dr Choi was sounding clear in terms of explaining, what is good, what is bad and how I can choose the perfect balance between these two so that I can enjoy my life too.He is very clear while making this point: There's no point living a perfect, 100% health conscious life without enjoying your whims and fancies within reasonable limits.

So, I think, Doctors of this new age should be preachers of practical well being that makes people aware and not scare. He sometimes sound very blunt and blatant, but what do I mean by that? When he finds that you are concerned about stuff that you shouldn't be concerned about, he makes it very clear to you: "Don't worry it ain't cancer! You wouldn't die of these symptoms!" He's offensively clamorous to the purpose that you are worrying about things you don't really have to.

Another thing I observe, he always gives you many options and informs you on each of those options and lets you tell him which option we want him to take. Is this ridiculous? As a Dr shouldn't he pick the best one of the options he has; Wouldn't we be confused with such a plethora of choices thrown at us especially when we are sick? But think about it. He has a few options, each one has pros and cons. All our "jack-of-all trades" physicists decide one as if they are the best decision makers. But really, aren't you the best one to decide on yourself? So DrChoi, lets you the decision maker. Wow..what an empowerment? I think DrChoi introduces "prosumerism" in healthcare.

But Shouldn't doctors be very positive? Shouldn't they make their patients motivated to live by soothing and comforting words exaggerated beyond logical limits; To me, I think we know such standard patterns and we are bored of all that; Being the fore-runners of this internet age, we are all very practical people, aren't we? But is DrChoi only for young, open minded people?; no he takes people by their genre, he speaks to my daughter in a different tone, he talks to my wife differently. I think he knows how he can handle people. I definitely think we need more such DrChoi's who can empower you with medical facts and accurate observations and at the same time advise you to lead the life the way you want to.